France seeks suitable successor for Lagarde

Ms Lagarde has also proven her ability to engage with Germany on eurozone reform. In March 2010 she made a bold call on Germany to boost its domestic demand, much to the relief of other smaller countries in the eurozone, said Simon Tilford, chief economist at EU think tank Centre for European Reform. While she may have pulled her punches more recently as France privileges its relationship with Germany, she is better placed than any other to take a more assertive line in Europe, he said. "If we were going to get progress [in Europe] then the best time would have been when you had Lagarde and [German finance minister] Wolfgang Schaeuble in their roles," he said. "It's a problem we didn't get more progress while the two of them were together."